“168 hours” weekly had an interview with co-author of the
constitutional amendments and leader of the National Assembly’s
“Hanrapetakan” (Republican) political party Galust Sahakyan. He stated
that the proposed plan of the constitution discusses the extension of
the president’s powers, however, no decision has been made.
“We have no intention of taking such actions. There have been rumors
going around that the president may put up his candidature in the 2008
presidential elections. I have some doubts about the opposition’s
ideology-every day they announce that pretty soon the president will
resign and they are fighting against him starting from now,” said G.
Sahakyan. In the new proposed plan of the constitutional amendments,
there is a section stating that Robert Kocharyan has the chance to
prolong his powers without putting up his candidacy. The 18th subtext
of the 85th article states: “The president has the right to declare
martial law in the country in the case of attack on the republic, any
danger facing the country or a declaration of war….” The 1st subtext of
the 60th article continues: “The military status delays the
presidential elections and the president continues to implement his
actions. All presidential elections may take place 40 days after the
end of military status. This means that at any given time, Robert
Kocharyan may declare that the country is in danger (for example,
Azerbaijan’s threats) and can delay the presidential elections.” G.
Sahakyan said the following about this: “Usually when there are any
discussions about the constitution, the opposition always tries to make
a big deal about it. I can’t remember that article, but it’s not
important. The opposition can try to make suggestions. Let them bring
forward an alternative to the table and that will be passed. So, we
really have no intentions.” Besides this, in contrast to the existing
constitution, the new version sets powers for the president and the
political forces are the ones on the weaker side. However, G. Sahakyan
tends to differ. According to him, in the proposed plan of the National
Assembly, the Prime Minister has many powers. Mr. Sahakyan considers
the fact that the Prime Minister makes decisions for the government
instead of the president an achievement: “The president plays the role
of a coordinator and the government now shows its individuality,” said
leader of the National Assembly’s “Hanrapetakan” (Republic) political
party. We called G. Sahakyan’s attention to the part in the proposed
plan where the prime minister’s right to put up his candidacy belongs
to the president and that if the National Assembly does not approve the
president’s appointed prime minister three times in a row, than the
president has the right to put an end to the National Assembly. I don’t
think that there is any president who can’t come to agreement with the
majority of National Assembly members in appointing a prime minister.
It’s obvious that if the majority votes against the prime minister,
then that prime minister can not be accepted. Also, I find it very
theoretical that the president appoints someone for prime minister for
him/her not to pass. That means a conflict between the president and
the National Assembly, but we are in favor of more balanced mechanism,”
affirmed G. Sahakyan. He had difficulty in giving one example of an
unbalanced mechanism which could play the role of a “balanced one” in
any conflict.
According to Mr. Sahakyan, the proposed plan of the Constitution is a
result of “consensus” discussions. This means that they are ready to
lead discussions and accept any suggestions made by the majority of the
National Assembly regarding any article during the session. “We will
take the road which does not lead to unconformities in politics. Any
authority can speculate the proposed plan taking into consideration its
interests. In any case, we will choose the right path. We are not
intended or set firm on those principles and points of views,” claimed
G. Sahakyan.
As for the weakening of the power of the political force, G. Sahakyan
thinks that their activities are not dependent on the Constitution, but
rather on their ideology. “The strength of the political force is found
in the people.”
“168 hours” weekly informed G. Sahakyan about the opinion-orientated
comment about the constitutional amendments made by member of the
National Assembly political party and professor of constitutional
rights Vartan Poghosyan. Poghosyan had stated that by reading the
proposed plan “you get the impression that it was written by a lazy and
careless student. It needs to be thrown away and a new one must be
written.” In response to this, Mr. Sahakyan claimed: “There is no
Armenian, especially an Armenian politician who doesn’t place himself
above the rest. The carelessness of the “student” is not the problem at
hand. So, throwing the proposed plan away and writing a new one is out
of the question. If they are underestimating it so much, let them write
one.”